The specter of losing billions in its legal battle with LIV Golf was one of the driving factors behind the PGA Tour’s decision to partner with its Saudi-backed rival.
The Tour could have been on the hook for billions of dollars in damages if LIV Golf won its antitrust lawsuit against the Tour, according to the Wall Street Journal.
After seeing information about the Tour’s commercial prospect and having already lured some of the biggest names in golf like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau, the Journal reports LIV Golf believed the PGA Tour was “vulnerable.”
With the litigation hovering over both golf leagues and the mudslinging only getting uglier, the two sides met in London in April, according to the Journal, which paved the way for Tuesday’s shocking merger.
The news came as a surprise to many of the PGA Tour players, some of whom said they found out about the sudden partnership on Twitter.
“I love finding out morning news on Twitter,” two-time major champion Collin Morikawa wrote Tuesday morning.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was met with hostility during a meeting with players Tuesday afternoon, with some calling for his resignation.
Rory McIlroy, one of the most outspoken critics of LIV Golf, said at the RBC Canadian Open on Wednesday that he feels like a “sacrificial lamb” after sticking up for the PGA Tour, and he also said the merger was unexpected.
Everything to know about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ending a war — by joining forces.
The two golf leagues, along with the European DP World Tour, are merging into one company after a period of fierce rivalry, one where LIV Golf defectors were banned from competing on the Tour.
LIV, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Other huge golf names, however, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stayed loyal to the Tour, despite being offered a massive amount of money.
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Norman said last year Woods turned down a payday in the range of $700 million-$800 million to stick with the PGA Tour.
With the merger, the Saudi-backed LIV and the Tour are ending an antitrust battle and agreed to end all litigation between the two sides.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model.”
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“I learned about it at pretty much the same time that everyone else did,” McIlroy said. “And yeah, it was a surprise. I knew there had been discussions going on in the background, I knew that lines of communication had been opened up. I obviously didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did.”
Tiger Woods, who also has criticized LIV, has not yet addressed the merger publicly.